The Lord’s Landscape

Our school on 19 St. Patrick Lane is a home, community, and a place we love. Every day, we drive past the front of the school, but might not notice the transformation it has undertaken in the past few years. So we had a question: How did this journey start?

The first person to go to was Mr. Arnold. As principal of St. Patrick, he keeps track of the amazing transformations our school has been through. He told us that the beautiful gardens started with the hiring of Mr. Irving Garcia as school custodian and groundskeeper. When asked what Garcia saw in the barren landscape, he said it looked like it needed some love. After consulting with Mr. Arnold and Father Greg, the project began.

The Drallmeier Memorial

Mrs. Gail Drallmeier, a beloved science teacher, passed away a few years ago, and in her memory, a 1400-pound stone was placed in the garden in front of our school.

The stone is engraved with her name and a quote from Joan Chittister, an American Benedictine nun. The stone is surrounded by river rocks and is the longest ongoing project. 

The St. Pats Circle 

The St. Pats Circle was designed to look like our school emblem. It is located to the left of the steps as you walk into the school.

The cross in the center is made out of evergreen-like bushes. In the spring and summer, yellow roses replicate the golden colors in our school logo.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Garden

To the right of the school entrance is the Lady of Guadalupe Garden. Our Lady of Guadalupe stands in the center, surrounded by plants and flowers native to where she appeared in Tepeyac Hill Mexico. Some of these plants include roses, succulents, Gaillardia aristata (Arizona Red Shades), zinnias, and sunflowers.

The concrete statue was originally gray and plain, but Mrs. Metcalf (Grades K-8 art teacher) and her daughter painted the statue in all of the colors that are pictured in any portrait or icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The tapered stairs are set in concrete and inviting to the eye. This encourages people to walk up and visit Our Lady.

On December 12, the feast day for Mary, there will be a celebration with flowers, plans to sing Happy Birthday, eat food, have a mariachi band, and celebrate Mass.

When Garcia was asked what his first reaction to the painted statue was, he said “I was speechless. She looked like one of us.”

Future Projects

Some projects to look forward to in the future include the playground wall, the Christ of the Highway statue, and grape vines on the side of the school. All of these projects will take time and lots of work, but they all benefit our church and school.

“People will see our school as a healthy institution and it encourages a perception of growth,” Arnold said, when asked about how these changes will affect our school.

We are excited to share this new information with the community of St. Patrick and look forward to the changes to come.